The Beginning Of After
by Rae D. Magdon
Summary: Liara and Shepard make good use of the grand piano in their new apartment. Spoilers for the Citadel DLC.


**Pairing:** Liara T'Soni/FemShep

**Spoilers:** Mass Effect 1, 2, 3, Citadel DLC

**Dedication/Prompt: **For Sam, who asked for a fic relating to the Citadel DLC.

**AN:** Sex on a piano. You can group this in with the Can Wait series if you so choose, but it doesn't specifically reference them.

**. . .**

**The Beginning Of After**

**. . .**

"Shepard, I..."

As Liara began to turn away, Shepard reached out, gently gripping her elbow. It didn't take much pressure to convince Liara to glance back over her shoulder, and when she did, Shepard lost her words for a moment. When Liara looked at her like that, with her slightly exasperated expression and a small wrinkle in her brow, it made Shepard's chest ache with love.

"What are you doing?" Liara asked, unable to disguise the happiness in her voice. It was obvious that she had wanted Shepard to pull her back – had even been expecting it.

Threading their fingers together, Shepard guided Liara back into her arms. They moved together seamlessly until they were standing face to face, grateful simply to be near each other.

"Making sure you don't run off to something more important."

Liara's smile softened, and she held both of Shepard's hands tight. "I can't imagine what that would be," she whispered.

Trying not to show how giddy and warm those words made her feel, Shepard ran her thumb over Liara's knuckles. "We should do this more often..." she suggested, tilting her head slightly to put her jaw at a more attractive angle.

Liara's eyes darted away to the side, and her smile faded slightly. She let go of Shepard's hands. "Yes, well. Maybe after..." But despite Liara's protective layer of pessimism, there was a note of hope in her voice, a soft, almost unspeakable wish that both of them would survive the coming battle. It made Shepard reach for Liara's hands again and step forward, closing the remaining distance between them.

"Every day after."

"Shepard..." The way Liara said her name, with such bittersweet longing and hope, made Shepard want to promise her the galaxy. Gently, Liara took one of her hands away and turned her head.

Shepard opened her mouth, about to speak, but before she could search for the right words to comfort her lover, Liara lifted her chin and smiled. The naked, vulnerable expression of love that Shepard saw on Liara's face stole her breath. She reached out with one hand, and Liara's fingers slid along her bare arm, cupping her elbow as they drew even closer. It wasn't long before her hand was tangled in Shepard's hair, bringing their lips together for a deep, lingering kiss.

The softness and warmth of Liara's mouth beneath hers was intoxicating, and Shepard cupped Liara's right hip, desperate to hold on to something. She had meant for this to be about reconnecting, taking strength from the love they shared and dreaming of the future they both wanted. But something about Liara made her lose herself, awakening a need within her that she couldn't control.

"Shepard," Liara murmured again. This time, she spoke the Commander's name desperately, needfully. "Please..."

"I didn't want this to be... quick..." Shepard said, even as her hands began undoing the fastenings on Liara's jacket. Liara didn't object, and began tugging at the bottom of Shepard's shirt. Her gloved hands pressed against the warm skin of Shepard's stomach, and both of the shuddered.

"We have all night. Just – I just need to feel you once. Now. And then..."

Shepard nuzzled the side of Liara's crest, nibbling along one of the outer ridges, savoring every push of Liara's hips and hitch of her breath. "Then, we'll try out every room in the apartment."

Liara murmured a breathless "yes" as she gripped the front of Shepard's shirt, pulling her backwards. It wasn't until Shepard had taken several halting steps that she realized they were headed toward the large grand piano next to the window.

"The piano? Really?" Shepard panted, her eyes growing wide when the backs of Liara's knees hit the bench. Then, she pitched forward as Liara gave another tug to her shirt, barely managing to catch herself in time.

"Anywhere, I just want..."

"But the window –"

"The blinds are drawn, Shepard." Liara peeled her gloves down from the elbow, revealing her soft blue hands. Remembering how those hands felt sent a rush of warmth over Shepard's skin, and her clothes suddenly felt hot and constricting. The insistent, pulsing ache between her legs doubled.

Barely waiting for Liara to finish removing her second glove, Shepard pushed her lover's lab coat off her shoulders. Liara fell back, elbows banging against the piano keys, all of her objections silenced by Shepard's hot mouth as it took hers. Both of them were too distracted to notice the noise.

Liara draped one knee over Shepard's waist, biting down on her lower lip until the need for air forced both of them to let go. She enjoyed the press of Shepard's body on top of hers despite the uncomfortable way the piano was digging into her back.

"I'm not hurting you, right?" Shepard asked as she fumbled with Liara's zipper. "Because we can –"

"No." Liara smiled and shook her head, lifting her hips so that Shepard could slide a hand into her open pants. "Please, continue with your grand romantic gesture."

"What, taking you to the Silver Coast Casino didn't count?"

"Not even a little. Making love on a piano is acceptable, however."

Both of them paused to laugh, and Shepard pressed a kiss to the center of Liara's forehead. The worry line that so often marred it had smoothed out, and for once, Liara actually looked happy.

Ignoring the way that Liara's zipper rubbed uncomfortably against the back of her hand, Shepard contorted her fingers. Liara's underwear was soaked completely through, and Shepard began rubbing in soft, firm circles, kissing along the line of Liara's jaw.

"That feels... surprisingly good... even through the fabric," Liara gasped in between pauses for breath, picking up a rhythm with her hips.

"Just a prelude. It will feel even better without it," Shepard promised, helping Liara out of her pants.

There was a brief, frustrated pause as they both hurried to remove Liara's boots, and the wait was made even longer when Liara insisted that they remove the rest of their clothes as well. "We might as well get rid of them now," she offered in explanation as she pulled Shepard's shirt over her head, making sure to run her bare hands over the flexing muscles of the human's stomach.

Shepard sighed and allowed herself to be undressed, even though she was far more interested in removing Liara's clothes than her own. But after a few moments, she had to admit that feeling Liara's bare skin against hers was worth it. She pushed Liara backwards onto the piano again, ignoring the dissonant sound of her forearms and Liara's elbows pressing down on the keys.

Liara closed her eyes and lifted her head, and this time, Shepard was the one who found herself being kissed until she couldn't breathe. Somehow, one of Liara's thighs had situated itself between her legs, and Shepard eagerly pressed down above her knee. The motion shifted the bench beneath them, but neither of them cared enough to stop.

"Goddess, I love feeling how much you want me," Liara sighed as she looped her arms around Shepard's neck, toying with the hair at the back of her head. She deliberately raised her thigh, offering Shepard more purchase. The bench continued rocking.

After a few moments, Shepard forced herself to stop. The disappointed look on Liara's face was so endearing that Shepard had to smile, but she didn't want to ruin her grand romantic gesture by coming on Liara's thigh – and if she continued what she was doing, that was exactly what would happen. Instead, she began taking advantage of all the naked skin she had worked so hard to uncover, running her hands over Liara's shoulders and upper arms, tracing her collarbone. Everywhere her fingers went, her lips followed.

"Shepard..." Liara's head fell to one side, her cheek pressing in to one of the many rounded edges of the piano. She could smell the wood and Shepard's arousal, and the scent made her dizzy. Shepard continued scattering kisses over her upper chest, which rose and fell with each shallow breath she took. Finally, Shepard's lips closed around the tip of Liara's breast, and she arched her back, hitting even more keys on the piano.

Liara's hands could not remain in one place. They roamed across Shepard's muscular shoulders, occasionally trailing down to squeeze her ass or cup the dip at the small of her back. She even caressed Shepard's arms, feeling her biceps tense as she supported the weight of her own body. Gently, she urged Shepard to shift her center of balance, freeing one of the Commander's hands and bringing it between her legs.

"Goddess, you're so wet..." Shepard murmured against Liara's breast before kissing her way back up the asari's neck.

"Because I love you."

Shepard didn't need to hear any more. She did not tease as she slid inside of Liara, first with one finger, then two, and sealed their bodies together. She curled her fingertips forward, catching the well-learned spot that make Liara's thighs jump and twitch every time it was rubbed.

"Shepard, I want –" Liara began, but she didn't have to finish.

"Yes..."

Liara's mind clasped to hers, surrounding it, burying within it, drawing from it as though she would die if she couldn't have as much of Shepard as possible. The undercurrent of worry and stress that Shepard nearly always felt when she melded with Liara was nowhere to be found, eclipsed by love and desire. In this moment, she was completely happy.

_'This is so...'_

_'Perfect.'_

Neither of them could tell who had started the thought and who had finished it, but it didn't matter.

They fell into a shared rhythm, breathing together and crying out at the same moments, but all of those sounds were lost in the warm seal of their mouths as they kissed. Their skin burned where it touched and ached where it didn't, and the only thing either of them could concentrate on was trying to get even closer, to feel their bodies become one just as their souls were.

Shepard hardly noticed when Liara's left hand found its way between her legs. The sensations coming from Liara were already more than enough, but the surge of love that she felt as Liara touched her was overpowering.

A thumb – they weren't sure whose – fell into place and began making quick circles, and their shared tempo grew faster. Reluctantly, their mouths broke apart, and Shepard panted into Liara's shoulder as warm lips ghosted across her cheek and latched on to a sensitive place just beneath her ear. They didn't need to say the words, but they thought them at the same time. _'I love you...'_

They kissed as they came together, but not soon enough to silence their cries. The sound was louder than the scraping of the bench's legs against the floor or the several low keys Liara struck as her other hand slipped. Her nails scrabbled for purchase against the slippery surface of the piano as she tried to push her hips forward, rubbing shamelessly against Shepard's hand in time with the rhythmic contractions that were squeezing her own fingers.

Finally, the two of them collapsed in a sticky, spent mess. Unwilling to separate, they remained embedded within each other both physically and mentally. Since Liara was barely taking any notice of them herself, Shepard didn't feel the painful stretch of her shoulders or the uncomfortable marks the piano was leaving on her back through the meld. Even the cramping in her own legs and hand seemed distant.

_'That was...'_

_'Amazing. Mmhmm.'_

"I was going to say it was like something out of _Vaenia_ or _Fleet And Flotilla_," Liara said out loud, "but yes. It was amazing, too." Slowly, Shepard removed her fingers from inside Liara, and felt her do the same. Both of them felt the loss and clung tighter to each other for several moments.

"Do you mind if we move to the floor?" Shepard asked, slowly climbing off of the bench. She didn't bother standing, since she wasn't sure her legs would support her anyway.

Liara was quick to follow her. "Thank the Goddess. Making love on a piano might be romantic, but it's also incredibly uncomfortable afterwards." Once they were both on the floor, they curled up against each other, ignoring the cold. Liara rested her head on Shepard's shoulder and began toying with her hair, making sure to use her dry hand. She brought the other to her lips, sucking her fingers mostly clean before she used them to trace patterns over Shepard's stomach.

"So, what's next?" Shepard asked, capturing Liara's hand in hers and squeezing it affectionately. "Tangled up together on a blanket in front of the fireplace? From behind on the desk in my new office? Oral on top of the breakfast bar?"

"Will I be giving or receiving?"

Shepard frowned. "I hadn't thought it through that far. Receiving, I guess? Does it matter?"

"No, as long as I get to be on my back. My spine feels like it's out of alignment, and my shoulders are sore." A sudden thought occurred to Liara, and she struggled to sit up, stretching her arms above her head and giving Shepard a very pleasant view of her breasts. "Actually, I believe Specialist Traynor informed me that you have a hot tub just off the master bedroom..."

Shepard hurried to follow Liara's example and sat up, climbing shakily to her feet. "The breakfast bar can wait." She extended her hand to help Liara the rest of the way up. "Come on, we've got some jets to test out!"

Liara laughed, shaking her head at Shepard's enthusiasm. "You promised me earlier that we would have the rest of our lives... Every day after. Why are you in such a hurry now?" Shepard grinned. For now, she believed every word of the promise she had made. And in the moments when she didn't, all she needed to do was picture Liara's face as she had said her name and looked up. The hope in her smile and the love in her eyes would make it true.

"Every day after can start right now," Shepard said, holding Liara's hand and pulling her gently towards the stairs. "I'm not going to waste a minute of it."

**The End**


End file.
